An AC-type surface discharge plasma display panel has become dominant in plasma display panels (hereinafter simply referred to as a panel). A panel contains a front plate and a back plate oppositely disposed with each other and a plurality of discharge cells therebetween. The front plate has a glass-made front substrate, display electrodes each of which is formed as a pair of a scan electrode and a sustain electrode, and over which, a dielectric layer and a protective layer are formed to cover the display electrodes. The protective layer not only generates initial electrons for stable discharge but also protects the dielectric layer from sputtering by ions generated by the discharge. The back plate has a glass-made back substrate, data electrodes, a dielectric layer for covering the data electrodes, barrier ribs, and phosphor layers. The front plate and the back plate are oppositely disposed and sealed with each other in a manner that the display electrodes and the data electrodes cross with each other via a discharge space formed inside. The discharge space is filled with discharge gas. Discharge cells are formed at positions where the display electrodes face the data electrodes. In the panel structured above, a gas discharge is generated selectively in each discharge cell, by which phosphors of red, green, and blue are excited. Color image display is thus attained (see patent literature 1).
In the panel, as described above, the protective layer not only generates initial electrons for stable discharge but also protects the dielectric layer from sputtering by ions generated by the discharge. That is, stabilizing the characteristics of the protective layer allows a panel to have excellent image display.